Leveraging Web 2.0 Collaboration for Good

by Fred Stutzman
December 4, 2007

Twitterquake

On October 30th of this year, I was up late on the computer, preparing for a class I was to teach the next day. Many of my East Coast buddies had signed off for the night, and it was relatively quiet. Around midnight, though, things suddenly picked up as my friends in the Bay Area started reported shaking--it was an earthquake. Twitter was abuzz with reports of people noticing the shaking, and then reporting that they were safe. About an hour later, the San Francisco Chronicle filed a report confirming a 5.6 earthquake with an epicenter near San Jose.

Twitterquake, as recorded by Chris Messina

In the hour between when the earthquake occurred and the news media reported it, I was able to collect many reports on the event, see if there was any damage, and even make sure my friends were OK. After that, I went to bed, with the very surreal sense that I had sort of experienced an earthquake that was 3000 miles away.

There was something else about the earthquake that interested me. It wasn't that my information sources beat the media--no, the blogosphere has been doing that for years. And it wasn't that I was able to be present with those experiencing the quake--IM and email transmissions have relayed information to me from important events before. What was new is that I felt that, if called upon, I or anyone else could have leveraged the various tools we use on a day-to-day basis--Twitter, blogs, wikis, distribution lists--to harness collective resources and help.

In this article, I'm going to explore some of the ways we're using the participatory Web to help one another by harnessing collective knowledge, by mashing up information tools, and by leveraging low-cost tools and techniques. We'll explore some cases you're familiar with, and some that may be new to you. I hope to show the power of the simple tools we use on a daily basis, and how these tools can come in very handy in times of need.

Katrina

In late August of 2005, as the water and wind from Hurricane Katrina swept across the Gulf states, a catastrophe unlike any other in United States history was unfolding. Millions of individuals were displaced by the storm, which covered a 90,000-square-mile disaster area. Critical infrastructure was damaged by the storm, and for a number of days it seemed as if even the government didn't know what was going on in the Gulf.

Faced with this calamity, individuals all over the country banded together to help those in the Gulf states. Like water and food, information is critically important in a disaster, so sites were set up to help Katrina victims. Much of this is cataloged at the KatrinaHelp Wiki, an all-volunteer effort of individuals around the globe, many of whom had also helped coordinate an e-response to the 2004 tsunami.

Cataloging the entire e-response to Hurricane Katrina is beyond the scope of this article, but I would like to drill down on a few instances that demonstrate the power of crowds, collective intelligence and networks. Perhaps the greatest examples of this were the various "people finder" efforts directly following Katrina. During the disaster, thousands of individuals were separated from their families; this separation was exacerbated, as large parts of New Orleans were declared uninhabitable.

Ad for the Katrina PeopleFinder Project

Now offline, the Katrina PeopleFinder (formerly located at Katrinaslist.net) was a collective effort to make searchable all of the missing-person reports that had emerged following Katrina. Leveraging an open source development model, the project called on volunteers of various expertise, creating both search technology and a data format for missing-person records. At its height, the project searched over 640,000 missing person and survivor records. The project was extended to the ShelterFinder (formerly located at ShelterFinder.org), a collaboratively designed and developed repository of shelter and gathering resources for Katrina victims.

While the people and shelter finders were among the most impressive large-scale volunteer efforts following the disaster, perhaps the most compelling contributions came from the voices of the scores of Katrina bloggers who popped up following the storm. With a panoply of voices reporting from the ground, some of the best information that was reported came from the citizen journalists writing, snapping pictures, and taking video, and posting to their websites. In fact, many news organizations chose to report blog accounts following the storm, as well as allowing reporters to blog their findings as they covered New Orleans.

For those interested in helping, the Web became the go-to place for fundraising and disaster support. Billions of dollars flowed to the many non-governmental organizations, charities, and faith-based organizations aiding those in the affected Gulf states. For a disaster of unimaginable size, the Web provided a venue for a global response. The scale of the disaster pressed individuals with varying skillsets into action; bloggers, database designers, and XML pros served an important function in disaster response, one that we'll likely see again in future disasters. We've learned that the government and organizations can only do so much; together, we're able to use technology to coordinate our own relief and information-sharing efforts.

Mashing Up Public Data

Example of a Chicago crime map (click the image for a larger version)

You may recall one of the first Google Maps mashups: the Chicago crime maps. Designed by Adrian Holovaty, this map mashup takes public data available from the Chicago Police Department and overlays it on a Google map. As a result, Chicago citizens are now able to quickly and easily map crime information according to categories such as zip code, crime type, and police beat, or by date. While mashups aren't new, the ability to visualize such important data on a map makes one wonder why all police departments don't also promote such efforts. Experiencing the data on a map transforms it, creating new and informative views on important data. Indeed, a number of other cities have either implemented or allowed mapping of crime data. This O'Reilly Radar blog post links to crime maps for Oakland, Los Angeles, and Portland. Currently experiencing some data issues, the Oakland maps are stunning in their visual presentation.

(click the image for a larger version)

Of course, crime data isn't the only meaningful public data mashup; we've seen many other public-good uses of mapped data. Most recently, Southern California fire maps chronicled the blazes that stretched from San Diego to north of Los Angeles. Using data provided by the various fire departments, maps were created illustrating the burn areas, the evacuation orders, and the status of existing fires. Residents of the affected areas were able to visualize where the fires were occurring, what routes were safest for evacuation, and how they could obtain shelter during the emergency.

These examples have all explored mapped data, but one can imagine other uses of public data. The Wall Street Journal won a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 exploring trends in public data. For their analysis, reporters looked at how top executives exercised stock options at optimal times, finding that the executives backdated their stock options. Of course, not all data analysis projects will be as enterprising as The Wall Street Journal's, but the possibilities for discovery are remarkable. With an open source methodology and an interested populace, one can only imagine what we'll be able to extract from public data.

Leveraging the Collective

On January 28, 2007, eminent computer scientist and Microsoft researcher Jim Gray's small boat went missing off the coast of San Francisco. A search commenced immediately, but the vastness of the search area proved challenging for traditional search and rescue efforts. Chronicled in depth by Steve Silberman for Wired magazine, the search for Gray leveraged a panoply of technical apparatus. Perhaps most impressive was a distributed search effort, managed with Amazon's Mechanical Turk program.

Example of satellite imagery, from Techcrunch.com

Using data uploaded from DigitalGlobe satellite services, a collection of individuals around the Web scoured image data from 30,000 square miles of ocean. According to Silberman's account, 21 of the images were tagged as a likely match for Gray's craft. Due to inclement weather, it took three days for planes to get up and search the areas; unfortunately Gray has not yet been found. The massive response to Gray's disappearance highlights the potential for crowdsourced operations. As an e-commerce innovator, one can only imagine that Gray would be proud of the steps his rescuers took. Similar measures were extended in the search for CNET editor James Kim and family, another rescue effort that leveraged vast Internet resources.

Collaboration for Good

While blogs, wikis, and the various tools of social media define Web 2.0, at an experiential level the “new web" is all about collaboration and communication. So many of the advances we see in Web 2.0 are the fruit of collective labor. While the daily activities of Web 2.0--social bookmarking, Digging, etc.--may seem even mundane, when our collective efforts are harnessed and focused, there's a tremendous amount of good we can do.

Gerica crab shed recovery day (Katrina recovery), Photo by lsgcp (CC Licensed) (click the image for a larger version)

After Hurricane Katrina, Web 2.0's role in the recovery of disaster areas was explored. Jeff Jarvis discussed a Recovery 2.0 meme; that is, a methodology for relief could be structured around Web 2.0 tools. Jarvis points to a bucketload of valuable resources, sharing ways to better use the technologies of connection in time of need.

Of course, using Web 2.0 for good only makes sense. At a time of need, we naturally want to do good, to do our part. If we can contribute to disaster relief or the location of a missing person using web tools, we're more than willing to do so. And we're certainly also willing to donate or money, time, and skills in the name of a good cause. Of course, doing good means paying attention to our everyday societal needs--not just the major news stories. With enough eyes, all bugs are shallow--and with Web 2.0, perhaps we might be able to band together to cure some of society's bugs.